By Rishabh Thakur

Selecting the actors for a web series or TV show at the pre-production stage is an extremely important task. It is absolutely necessary to choose the right actor for a particular character to make a TV show or a web series successful and popular. In the past few years, I had an opportunity to successfully cast actors for over 100 TV shows, web series and films like Bal Shiv, Ghar Ek Mandir, Aghori, School Friends, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Rocketry, etc.

As far as my casting principles are concerned, I focus a lot on the authenticity of any artist. It is imperative to know about his/her personal values, native land, mother tongue, etc during the casting process. For example, if a particular show is related to Gujarati culture, I will endeavour and prefer to cast Gujarati artists in that show to enhance the intrinsic value of creativity. While casting an artist for a particular show, I also give importance to the ‘loyalty’ factor. During the audition, I keenly observe patience and dedication in actors. It invariably helps me in the selection process.

My selection of actors for ‘School Friends’, which was praised a lot by the producers, directors etc, was very difficult and a challenging task. It took me more than a month to select those 6 to 7 child actors for the show. Children were wanted from a particular category and the story was about a school. About 300 children auditioned. At that time, it was to be seen as to who was suitable for the role according to the age and language proficiency. We held workshops and thereafter the child actors were selected.

Many successful actors today were auditioned or selected by me in the shows during their initial days in the entertainment industry. They respect me a lot and I am proud of their achievements.

(The author of this article is Mumbai-based and a well-known casting director of the entertainment industry)